


Meow

by SamCatsOLD



Series: Tales of Redemption [5]
Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Body Horror, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Me being a terrible person yet again, Monster Tom, Robot arms are overpowered, Tom is my favourite character, Tord is a cat, Tord is smol, Vampire Matt, What Is Wrong With ME, like what the hell, my god, why do I hurt him so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-10 04:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10429044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCatsOLD/pseuds/SamCatsOLD
Summary: Edd and Ringo are great at revealing secrets





	1. Growl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to take a break today. I was supposed to get away from the angst and fluff. But it called to me.
> 
> Too much angst.

As soon as Tord had gotten over… whatever Matt had given him, he was passed over to his friends so Paul and Patryk could leave again. While staying with his overprotective gay parents, Tord had been able to remove the bandages on his left arm and also discovered that Paul and Patryk were capable of hiding things. Sugary things.

Needless to say they were glad to hand him over.

He’d been given back to Matt at first, only to be handed over to Tom as soon as Matt sneezed – Tord was a nightmare when he was sick. Tom, however, had decided that that was an appropriate time to start killing things, so Tord had snuck down the hall to Edd’s apartment instead.

Luckily, Edd was a very hospitable person.

Which was how Tord ended up in an unusual situation.

He’d woken up, questioned his existence for a while and got ready. When he’d emerged into the living room, he’d seen Edd pacing back and forth across the room. Edd was not a pacer.

“Uh… Edd?”

Edd jumped nearly a mile high – metaphorically, of course – and whirled around, as if shocked that Tord even existed. After a moment his breathing steadied and he offered an uneasy, “Oh, s-sorry, Tord.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah! I just, um…” Edd had paused to take a breath. “I-I think Ringo’s gone missing.”

“How come?”

“Well, I haven’t seen him since you and Matt got sick. And I know I’m not just not seeing him, because his food bowl’s still full and the litter tray is empty!”

That was a good three days. Sure, cats wandered, but never for that long.

“Well… do these apartments allow pets?” Tord asked.

“Yes.”

Okay, so he hadn’t just gotten locked out of the building.

“Have Tom or Matt seen him?”

“No.” Edd was starting to look scared.

Something about these past few weeks had changed something in Tord. Maybe it was seeing Tom, who had always hated him, help him pull a prank and trust him not to tell their friends that he was currently a shivering ball curled up in the corner of his apartment. Or maybe it was watching Matt, who always held his head high and was confident in his greatness, start to worry about the man who had given him a black eye and tried to kill him. Perhaps it was Paul and Patryk giving up their façade of dignified soldiers and showing their emotions for each other and the tiny Norwegian they treated like a son.

But whatever it was, it had changed him. He was not going to stand by and watch sweet, trusting Edd worry himself to tears over something they could easily fix together.

Which was how Tord ended up trudging along the streets in the rain with only a spare raincoat to shield him from the downpour, a bundle of papers in his hand. Trying to block the posters from the rain with his own body was only partially effective, and many of them had soggy edges by time he’d stuck them to a wall or post.

Eventually he ran out of posters and began to make his way back to the apartment building, consciously turning away whenever somebody passed him, hoping they wouldn’t recognise him or notice the scars across his face.

After a couple minutes of walking, Tord met up with Tom, who had begrudgingly agreed to help. Usually the eyeless man would be complaining about the rain, especially since his hood was down, but he looked a little too tired for it.

They waited at the door to the apartment building; Matt showed up a few minutes later, umbrella resting against his shoulder – he didn’t want to put anything on over his overcoat, which didn’t have a hood.

After around five minutes, Tord was beginning to get worried. Eventually he convinced Tom to call Edd.

“Hey, Edd. We’re getting worried; where are you?”

Tord waited impatiently. He reached to tug at the bandages on his arm, only to remember they were gone.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Tord looked suddenly to Tom. The eyeless man was beginning to look frustrated. Tord noticed distractedly that Matt, too, was starting to pay a little more attention.

“No, Edd, don- Edd? _Edd?_ ”

Tom swore under his breath and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Tord looked up at him, concerned, “What-”

“The alley. Behind the apartment building.” Tom was already walking, away from a confused Tord and Matt and towards the shady place behind the building.

“Tom, why is-”

“I don’t know if you forgot while you were off in _Norway,_ but England isn’t crime-free.” Tom snapped over his shoulder, quickening his pace.

Tord flinched. Tom didn’t often get mad at him anymore; Tord could tell he was getting upset.

It was Matt hurrying past him that finally motivated him to follow the eyeless man. Tord found himself running to keep up with his taller friends, ignoring the water that splashed over him whenever his foot hit a puddle. Only the years of training kept him upright as he sped across the uneven pavement.

It was that same training that helped Tord reach the alleyway first. Tom had been right; it was shady. It both ways.

At first he saw a shadow, a barely visible green raincoat being the only thing to show that it was Edd. A second later he noticed the taller shadow beside Edd, pointing something at the shorter man. A knife? A gun?

Tord couldn’t tell, and Tord didn’t care. By time Matt reached him, he had taken the gun he always kept hidden inside his hoodie and was pointing it down the alleyway. He was about to call out, but suddenly Tom was there, growling, lunging towards the taller shadow.

Before Tord could truly comprehend the situation, Edd was running down the alleyway, and Matt was there to grab him - abandoning his umbrella without a second thought - and pull him further down the street, away from the yelling and snarling. Tord fumbled with his gun for a moment before starting down the alleyway, where the tall shadow had disappeared, replaced by one that was even taller than the first and was emitting a low growling noise.

“T-tom?” Tord spoke nervously, hands beginning to shake around the gun.

The shadowy figure stopped moving suddenly, looking up at Tord with a single, clearly visible eye. Tord gulped and tried to think back to what Tom had told him the first time Tord had questioned him about his changing. Something about… the horns?

Tord glanced up slightly. His heart sank; two tall, purple horns were protruding from the figure’s forehead.

Tord only had time to think, _Faen,_ before the figure was diving for him, and he was stumbling backwards onto the street, and he was being pinned down by a man who was suddenly much taller, claws digging into his shoulders.

The Norwegian’s head smacked against the pavement, pain exploding through his head and momentarily distracting him from the blood welling up beneath the left arm of his hoodie. The claws grasped aimlessly at his robot arm; he could hear the sound of grinding metal in his torn right ear.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tord saw a shocked Matt and a shivering Edd staring at them. He was about to yell at them to run, but the claws dug in tighter and his command became but a yelp of pain. He squinted a little, glaring up at the ~~man~~ monster above him.

They’d nearly doubled in height, their eyes fusing and horns sprouting from their head. Their fingers now ended in sharp claws. Tord was vaguely aware of a tail, as well. Blood was dripping from their now sharp teeth; it was easy enough to tell what had happened to the man in the alleyway.

Despite the possibly mortal danger he was in, Tord couldn’t help but smile a little. _Just like old times._

And then he was reaching out, his fingertips brushing against the grip of his gun. He stretched a little further, wincing as the claws dug deeper into his shoulder, and managed to grab hold of the weapon. Tord grinned before bringing the gun around, ignoring the fact that the claws were close to hitting bone, and firing into a portion of arm that he knew from experience had tougher skin than the rest.

The ~~man~~ monster cried out in a scarily human way and fell back, allowing Tord to wriggle free and scramble to his feet, pointing the gun at them again, even as blood began to soak his hoodie a darker shade of red. The raincoat was torn up at the back and on the arms; it was really just dead weight at this point, so he hurriedly shrugged it off as the ~~man~~ monster recovered.

Without his life being immediately threatened, Tord was able to turn to Matt and Edd and yell, “Run!”

But they didn’t move. Whether it was fear or just stupidity, they didn’t move.

“What are you _doing?_ Run!” He repeated as the ~~man~~ monster began to rise to their feet.

“W-we’re not leaving you!” Edd called back bravely, although his fear was obvious in the tone of his voice.

They stood up. They towered over Tord now; they were probably taller than Matt at this point. Blood coated their hands – Tord’s – and their shoulder – their own.

“Forget me!” Tord shouted, anger rising within him. “Get back to the apartments!”

The ~~man~~ monster lunged; Tord quickly dodged to the side so that they hit the road instead; he steadied his grip on the gun.

“What about Tom?” Matt asked; he sounded nervous, uncertain.

Screw subtlety. “ _This_ is Tom!”

Judging by the sharp intake of breath and the shocked expressions, Tom had never told them anything.

But now was not the time to worry about that. Now was the time to worry about how he was going to get Tom to change back. Usually, Tom changed back when he was gravely injured, but that only applied when he changed completely. Right now, he still vaguely resembled a human being. Maybe if he just knocked him out? That… could work.

But how was he going to do that? Tord took a step back and stumbled at the kerb, one foot landing on the road; an idea popped into his head.

Moving slowly so as to not tip off Tom, Tord began to step further onto the road, baiting his frenemy into following him. Soon Tord was facing down a monstrous version of Tom in the middle of the road, pointing a gun towards him. 

Tord was breathing heavily at this point, adrenaline pumping through his veins. His knuckles were turning white around the grip of the gun and his robot arm was starting to shiver; Tom must’ve done something to it.

It took a good couple minutes of circling and dodging and yelling at his friends to run before Tord heard the distant sound he’d been hoping for. But he couldn’t give it away yet. He could only hope it headed this way.

His prayers were answered. Within moments a bright light was shining through the rain. Tom was briefly distracted; Tord dived for the pavement, ignoring the way it scraped his hands and tore at the arms of his hoodie as he landed. He was on his feet again in seconds, just in time to see the truck barrelling down the road, unconsciously wondering if a truck was a little too much. Tom saw it just a second too late.

_Bang._

The truck kept driving.

Edd let out a noise of fear and pain.

Matt had to restrain the shorter man to stop him running onto the road.

Tord dropped his gun.

Tom lay there, unmoving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised angst. I promised a multi-chapter fic.
> 
> I wish I hadn't. D:


	2. Hiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for it to be this long. It just kind of happened.

By time Tord built up the courage to check the body, Edd had become a shaking ball on the floor, Matt being his only shield from the world around him. Tord took his first shaky steps onto the road before breaking down and running flat out towards Tom.

He fell to his knees beside his frenemy, ignoring the cold bite of the wet tarmac. Hesitating slightly, he reached out and gently rolled Tom onto his back.

The truck had definitely been too much.

Tord bit back a whimper. Tom had reverted to his original height, his eyes were separate again and the tail had seemingly disappeared. However, the horns, while slightly shorter, still stuck out of his forehead and his fingers still ended in claws. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, although it was impossible to tell whose it was anymore.

Terrified of what he could discover, Tord cautiously lay his head down on the taller man’s chest. For a few dreaded moments he heard nothing. And then, the faint flutter of a heartbeat.

He raised his head and forced back a few tears of joy and relief. His robot arm wasn’t responding anymore, and he doubted he’d be able to drag Tom along with just one arm.

“Matt!”

Matt looked up at Tord. He was kneeling now, arms wrapped about a shivering Edd, as if he could use himself to protect the shorter man from the scene before him.

“He’s alive.”

The relief in Matt’s eyes had been enough to make even Tord feel a little better. Matt glanced down and muttered something to Edd before detaching himself from the brown-haired man and walking over to Tom. Tord hurried over to Edd as Matt crouched down and picked Tom up bridal-style in the way that only tall people could.

“What do we do now?” Matt asked softly as he walked up to Tord, who was coaxing Edd into standing.

“We need to take him back to his apartment. I know how to deal with this.” Tord told him. There wasn’t much point trying to keep secrets anymore.

“How do you know?”

“We can talk about it when he’s not in danger of dying.”

Matt fell silent as they walked back to the apartment building; the only noise left was Edd’s quiet tears and the rain that none of them were bothered about anymore.

Luckily, nobody was in the lobby when they went in, so they were able to get Tom upstairs and into his apartment – he never locked it for some reason – without any hassle. Once inside, Matt lay Tom down on the sofa and Tord hurried to the bathroom. Instead of looking through it, he just took the entire first aid kit and ran back to the living room.

Edd was curled up on the floor at the end of the sofa, head buried in his knees. Matt was playing the diligent protector once again, somehow managing to watch both Tom and Edd’s faces and the door all at once.

Tord knelt beside the sofa and glanced at the gunshot wound in Tom’s arm. He hadn’t expected it to carry over to his human form. After a few awkward moments of trying to see the wound, Tord realised he’d have to take off Tom’s hoodie. He felt even more awkward for a moment before remembering that Tom did, in fact, wear a shirt underneath.

“So, what _happened_ out there?” Matt finally asked.

Tord glanced across at Edd before returning his attention to Tom.

“W-well, you guys were g-getting worried about me.” Edd sniffed. “So I tried to take a shortcut through the alleyway. But th-this guy jumped out at me, a-and he had a knife, a-and-” Edd broke off, burying his face in his hands and crying quietly.

Tord finally got Tom’s hoodie off and dumped it on the floor beside him. “We found you in the alley, with the guy. I pulled a gun on him, but Tom beat me to it.”

“And he turned into… whatever this is?” Matt questioned, beginning to pace.

“Yep.” Tord looked closer at the wound. The blood was blocking most of it, but he could see a faint shine within. The bullet was still in there. Great. He must’ve missed his mark. Or maybe Tom had just gotten weaker over the years. “Hey, uh, Matt, can you help me with this?”

Tord was already getting the antiseptic and gloves. “Do either of you know where we can get some tweezers?”

Edd mumbled something about a bathroom before slowly standing and stumbling out of the room. As much as Tord wanted to go after him, Tom was the more immediate concern. Metal was generally not good for you.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to take him to a hospital?” Matt asked earnestly, although he knelt down and took a pair of gloves anyway.

“Magic doesn’t exist; they’ll be able to see the horns.” Tord glanced up as Edd returned and sat down beside them, passing a small pair of tweezers to Tord. They weren’t ideal, but they’d have to do.

“And why do you know how to do this?”

“Again, we’ll talk later.” Tord muttered, soaking a cotton pad with some of the antiseptic. He carefully began to wash away the blood around the wound.

“Fine. What do I need to do?” Matt sighed.

“It’s kind of gross, but I need you to pull the wound open.” Tord stated, taking the tweezers and trying not to show his fear.

“Eww.” But Matt did it anyway, reaching over and gingerly tugging at the skin, wincing all the while.

After a moment Tord reached over with the tweezers, trying his best to get a good view of the bullet. He couldn’t afford to mess up here. 

It took what felt like hours of Edd’s quiet crying, Matt’s constant cringing and Tom’s lack of steady breathing before Tord finally managed to get the tweezers around the lump of metal. He squeezed and slowly began to pull it out, falling back as soon as it left contact with Tom’s skin. He dropped the bullet and reached for a small patch of gauze.

“Why does Tom have all that stuff in a first aid kit?” Matt asked softly.

“Because for him, this _is_ first aid. He does it at least once a month.” Tord answered without thinking, handing the gauze to Matt and saying, “Press down, _hard._ ”

He then reached for the bandages, beginning to wrap them tightly around Tom’s arm – not too tight. At some point Matt released the gauze and Tord simply held it in place with the bandages. It was around this time he began to feel the pain in his shoulder. The adrenaline and fear had kept it numb until now, but knowing that Tom was probably going to be okay was letting him relax. The pain was pretty bad. But Tom was more important in that moment.

Once Tom was taken care of, Tord sat back on his heels and wiped his face, unknowingly smearing a little blood across his cheek. He peeled off the gloves and picked up the mess of supplies he’d made on the floor, hurrying to the kitchen and tossing them in the bin. The bullet… it was undamaged; despite his common sense telling him not to, he hid it in his hoodie with his gun, which he’d picked up on the way back.

Matt was sitting with Edd and Tom was bandaged; Tord could worry about himself now. Before he came back, Tord never would’ve let anyone else treat him. But right now, he didn’t care. He was in pain and there was no way he’d be able to take care of it himself.

Matt would be a good doctor, or at least a nurse.

* * *

Tord was relieved when Paul answered the door. He took one look at Tord – lacking his hoodie; his left arm bandaged; rents in his robotic arm; a smear of blood across his face – and opened the door.

“It’ll take me a while to fix this.” Paul sighed. Tord was standing impatiently by the door as the soldier examined his robot arm. It felt weird not having it attached; he felt off balance. “It would be best if you went back to Tom and came to get it tomorrow.”

Tord had given Paul the short version of what had happened. He just wanted to get back. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if Tom woke up while he wasn’t there. “Okay, then I’ll come get it tomorrow.”

He went back to Tom’s apartment; Matt had moved Tom to the bedroom for convenience. Edd had gone back to his apartment and Matt was just waiting for Tord to return until he went back to his.

Tord dragged a chair into the bedroom and sat beside the bed. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, but the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake. He mumbled something and sat up, waving away whoever had appeared at his side.

“Were you here all night?” Matt asked curiously.

“What time is it?” Tord queried blearily.

“Ten in the morning.”

“Then yes, I was here all night.” Tord stood and stretched, flailing his left arm in an attempt to meet his right, only to remember that he didn’t have a right arm.

“I didn’t realise you and Tom cared about each other.” Matt was holding a tray. He noticed Tord looking at it and set it down on the bed. “I made some breakfast in case Tom woke up, but I guess you can have it.”

“Thanks.” Tord muttered, sitting down again and taking a piece of toast from the plate. “Um… what do you mean, about me and Tom caring about each other?”

“Well, it’s just that you two never really seemed to get along, but now you’re willing to stay overnight just in case he wakes up.” Matt explained, sitting at the end of the bed.

Tord had never really thought about it. He glanced down at Tom; the claws had receded and the horns had shortened considerably. Yes, he’d come to consider Tom as a friend, but Tom feeling the same way? It went against almost everything he knew. “I, uh, didn’t realise he didn’t hate me.”

“Why would he?”

“I don’t know, maybe because I _blew him up?_ Or maybe turning him into a monster did it!”

“Wait, what?”

“Uh…” Oh, yeah, secrets… Who needs them? “You might want to get Edd.”

* * *

A while later Tord was sitting on one side of the bed; Matt and Edd had brought in their own chairs and sat down opposite him.

“So… I may or may not have turned Tom into this.” Well done, Tord.

“W-why?” Edd asked quietly.

“Well… Tom and I used to be friends. Before I ever even met you guys. Well, we’d met, but we weren’t friends yet. Um… I was into science-y stuff and started doing experiments.” Tord began, uncertain. “And Tom used to help me with them.”

“So was this one of the experiments?” Matt looked uncharacteristically serious.

“Not exactly. It was just after we all moved in together and I was starting to make that secret lab. Tom was helping me move some stuff around and…” Tord paused to take a shaky breath. “I-I don’t actually know what happened. I just heard something smash and then suddenly Tom was screaming, and-”

“He turned into this?” Matt guessed, gesturing to the small horns on Tom’s head.

Tord nodded numbly.

There was a moment of silence before Edd stood up, “I’m gonna go back to my apartment,” and left the room.

“Is he okay?” Tord asked, concerned.

“He nearly got stabbed, his friend nearly died and his best friend has gone missing.” Matt replied.

“Since when were you so serious about this kind of thing?”

“You did kind of, you know, blow up my house.” Matt said before standing. “I’m gonna go after Edd. Are you okay to look after Tom?”

Tord nodded again, shifting his gaze from Matt to the unconscious Tom. “It’s my fault anyway.”

“Tord, we’ve told you hundreds of times; don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know this would happen.”

But as Matt left the room, Tord couldn’t help but think, _Yes I did. I knew he was about to change but I asked him to help anyway._

For a while he just sat there, watching and waiting for… anything really. But Tom didn’t stir. After a while Tord knew he should get up, walk around… get his arm back. He was reluctant to leave Tom alone, but it would only be for a few minutes. Hopefully.

He hurried across the hall to Paul and Patryk’s apartment and knocked on the door without hesitation. Patryk answered this time, letting Tord in and calling out for Paul.

Sitting down on the sofa, Tord forced himself not to fidget as he waited through the ridiculously long process of reattaching his arm. His real right arm ended just below his shoulder, ending in a thin sheet of metal. The robotic arm connected with some sort of mechanism – Tord didn’t ask for specifics as long as it worked.

“Now, you’re going to want to be careful when you’re picking stuff up for a while. I had to choose between making some adjustments or scrapping the entire thing. Starting again from scratch would take much too long, so…” Paul explained, trailing off at the end as the arm clicked into place.

Tord pulled his arm away and flexed it experimentally. Deciding it worked well enough, he stood up and backed towards the door. “Uh, thanks.”

* * *

Tord considered his hoodie for a moment. Both shoulders were ripped and there were holes in the arms and back. There was no fixing it. Tom’s was definitely worse, though. It was badly torn from where he’d grown and there was a hole in the shoulder.

Dumping both hoodies on the sofa, Tord walked to Tom’s room. The eyeless man was still unconscious. Tord sighed and sat beside the bed again, unconsciously tugging at the bandages on his left arm. He’d washed the blood from Tom’s hands and face the night before, but the bandages around the bullet wound had stained red. They’d have to be changed soon.

On his way to get the first aid kit, Tord spotted something green on the table. He picked it up curiously; Edd had left his phone behind. His immediate thought was to give it back, but now the phone was ringing.

Tord answered without thinking and offered a nervous, “Hello?”

“Hi! Um, I think I might have found your cat?”

* * *

How Ringo had ended up on the opposite side of town in the shed of a couple teenagers, Tord would never know. And he could never ask, either, because Ringo was a cat. And cats didn’t speak English. Or Norwegian. That would’ve been fun; they could’ve had secret conversations.

Why said teenagers weren’t surprised when they opened the door to their… odd… little group – a man wearing a hoodie and overcoat in the middle of summer; a shell-shocked man who looked as if he hadn’t slept in days; and a tiny Norwegian with a torn shirt, a robotic arm, a disfigured face, dried blood on his cheek and a painfully suspicious blue coat – Tord would also never know.

Edd didn’t care; he was just happy to see that Ringo was safe and surprisingly well nourished.

Everything seemed to be going well. Until Ringo decided to hiss at nothing, jump out of Edd’s arms and chase an invisible mouse. Tord had honestly thought cats were smarter than that.

Which was how he ended up chasing after a speeding cat with the cat’s owner and the person who once spilled nail polish on the cat. After a multitude of corners, they finally hit even ground and Tord was able to catch up to Ringo, who had noticeably slowed down. He grabbed the cat with both arms, only to recall Paul’s warning and quickly shift the feline’s weight to his left arm.

After a moment or two Edd and Matt caught up and Tord passed Ringo back to Edd. Matt seemed distracted. Tord, confused, followed the ginger’s gaze. Oh.

Beside the pavement was an expanse of grass, and then a pile of rubble. The decaying remains of a fence separated it from a similar pile of rubble. There was a darker patch in the grass next to this second pile of rubble.

Standing in the middle of the first pile of rubble was a scorched control panel covered with buttons. Tord found himself drawn towards it, not even noticing until he was standing beside it. He reached out with a shaky hand, only to drop it to his side, balling it into a fist.

He turned to look at Matt and Edd. They were watching him cautiously, not even trying to hide their concern. Tord glanced at the control panel again before taking a deep breath and walking away.

* * *

Tord wasn’t sure when he’d gotten home. He just remembered being hugged. He didn’t know _why_ he had been hugged, but apparently he had. At some point he must’ve gone back to the apartments and stumbled into Tom’s apartment again. But there was just… a gap between being hugged and dumping his coat on the floor and sitting down on the sofa.

Eventually he got up to use the bathroom and, looking in the mirror afterwards, noticed the smear of dried blood on his cheek. He cleaned it off and found his gaze unwillingly drawn to his scarred shoulder, shown clearly through the tear in his shirt. The scars ran down the right side of his neck, across his shoulder, all the way down to where his real arm cut off. He was tempted to remove his shirt to see the full extent of the scarring, but thought better of it at the last second.

Tord glanced to his bandaged shoulder instead, noticing that the bandages had turned a slight pinkish colour. It was lucky Tom had so many bandages lying around. Although, considering that he would often change back only to still have holes in his forehead, it wasn’t surprising. Really, they had been very lucky that Tom had changed back quickly enough to _not_ start gushing blood everywhere. It would have been quite traumatic for Matt and Edd.

Once his shoulder was bandaged again, Tord went back to Tom’s room and sat beside the bed again. He was starting to get hungry; he hadn’t eaten anything since that morning. But Tom took priority here. It was Tord’s fault he was hurt, and-

His train of thought was derailed when Tord heard Tom say something. At least, it sounded as if he’d said something. Hopeful that the eyeless man may be waking up, Tord reached out and gently shook his arm. He was oddly warm. Now a little concerned, the Norwegian rested his organic hand against his frenemy’s forehead; the horns were basically gone at this point. He was too hot.

More than a little worried, Tord grabbed at the bandages on Tom’s arm and began to unravel them. Once they were off, he tentatively peeled off the gauze.

_Faen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Ringo's safe!
> 
> This is the second time I've ended a chapter with 'Tom might die!'. I'm a terrible person.


	3. Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I'm so sorry!

Despite the danger and Matt’s protests, Tord still refused to take Tom to the hospital for a few reasons. First, he still had small horns poking out of his head. Second, the people at the hospital would recognise Tord. Third, the people at the hospital would have no idea how to treat somebody with Tom’s… condition.

Plus, there wasn’t much you could do about an infection other than to keep treating it and hope for the best. So Tord applied more disinfectant, redressed the wound and sat back, waiting. At some point Tom regained some sort of consciousness, able to prop himself up and drink a cup of water before falling asleep again.

He didn’t look peaceful.

Eventually Matt forced Tord out of the bedroom, insisting that he eat something and rest before returning. He was much too worked up to do either. He had instead started pacing the room, mulling it all over.

Tom had nearly attacked Edd. It was his fault.

Tom had attacked him. It was his fault.

Tom was in great danger. _It was his fault._

Tord wasn’t sure when he had collapsed on the sofa, but he had. He pulled his knees up to his chest and took a few deep, shuddering breaths. Eventually he grew cold, and realised he still hadn’t replaced his hoodie.

He was pretty sure Paul and Patryk kept some spares for him.

* * *

When Tord returned, Matt was sitting on the sofa. Tord hesitated for a second before sitting beside him and asking weakly, “How is he?”

“We can’t tell yet.” Matt sighed. “But, uh… I think he’s changing again.”

“He can barely control it when he’s healthy. Being sick is just making it worse.” Tord explained, mentally cursing himself.

Tord was on his feet before he even truly registered the scream. He hadn’t the time to think before he was running, reaching the bedroom in just a couple seconds. He flung the door open, vaguely aware of the sound of snapping wood.

The scream had come from Edd, who was currently being pinned to the wall by a monstrous Tom. Tord’s hand went instinctively to the gun in his hoodie, but he thought better of it at the last second. Before he could think of something better, Matt was beside him, letting out an odd growling noise.

Tord turned to look at Matt, but the taller man was already gone. There was a yelp from Tom’s general vicinity and by time Tord turned back Edd had backed into a corner and Tom was lying against the wall.

Possibly the most concerning thing, however, was Matt. He was standing over Tom, glaring down at the now-taller man. He looked oddly pale.

And suddenly Tom was on his feet again and was lunging for Matt, teeth bared. Tord took only a moment to consider his options before darting towards Edd, grabbing the brown-haired man and shoving him towards the door. The Norwegian quickly assessed Tom – horns, claws, tail, one eye, fangs – before bolting forwards, throwing himself between Matt and Tom, organic hand on his gun and robotic hand held out towards Tom.

He hadn’t expected an attack from behind.

The next thing he knew he was on the floor at Tom’s feet. He recovered quickly, rolling away and hurrying to his feet.

Matt had just attacked him. Knocked him right into the path of Tom.

Matt was glaring at Tom with red eyes, lips drawn back to reveal fangs.

Tord spared a glance for Edd, who was watching the scene unfold with wide, fearful eyes. But there was something else there. Recognition.

The Norwegian cursed before running for Edd, grabbing his friend and ducking behind the doorframe. “What happened? What’s going on in there?”

Edd took a moment to recover before stuttering out, “T-tom changed a-and attacked me. Matt….” He paused, looking a little guilty. “I-I should have told you before.”

“Told me what?” Tord asked hurriedly. He could hear the growling behind him; soon the screaming would start up again.

“I… while you were away, Matt got bitten by a vampire. He recovered, but he still has some sort of… reflex, if he sees his friends getting hurt.”

“Then why didn’t this happen when you got attacked in the alley?”

“Tom beat him to it.”

Tord flinched as something hit what remained of the door behind him. He released Edd and ran back into the room, feeling for his gun. _Faen!_ He must have dropped it when Matt had hit him.

Okay, new plan.

He had to get Matt out of the way so he could calm Tom down. What deterred vampires? Stakes? No, that would just kill him. Water? Was that even a real weakness? Sunlight? Tord glanced to the window; the curtains were pulled shut, but a tiny sliver of light came in through the gap.

He could only hope sunlight wasn’t lethal.

Tord dashed to the window, vaguely aware of the growling behind him rising in pitch and volume. He grabbed the curtains and tore them open, his newly-‘upgraded’ robotic hand actually ripping one of the curtains straight off. He dropped the fabric and turned, watching as Matt began to back towards the square of light covering half of the room.

Unfortunately, Tom seemed to notice the light before Matt, and registered it as an advantage. But instead of simply hiding within the light, he decided to take Matt with him. Tord barely dodged out of the way before the two monsters crashed to the ground within the light. For a second there was nothing, and then Matt was crying out and Edd was screaming and Tord was hearing it all as if through water and wishing he was dead.

Of course sunlight was lethal.

The black of Tom’s claws was beginning to spread across his arms; it was too late for Tord to even hope to overpower him. The Norwegian dove for where his gun lay, grabbing it with his robotic hand and running for Tom.

A normal person trying to pistol-whip somebody in Tom’s current state would have literally no effect. Tord, however, had a robotic arm that was almost completely out of his control at this point.

Tom yelped and fell back, backing into a corner and clutching his head. Matt was gone in an instant, kneeling and shivering in the doorway, face buried in his hands. Blood was welling up through a large tear in the shoulder of his hoodie. Edd hesitated for a moment before hurrying over and kneeling beside the maybe-vampire.

Somewhat certain that Edd and Matt would be safe, Tord turned to Tom. He had already recovered, glaring at Tord across the room and emitting a low growl. Hesitating slightly, the Norwegian tucked the gun into his hoodie once again.

“Edd?” Tord held out his robotic hand towards Tom once again. “Take Matt and get out of here.”

“But-”

“Get out.” Tord repeated, not daring to look away from Tom, who was slowly advancing on him. Any second now he would leap, and then there would be blood and people being hurt and he didn’t want his friends to be around for it.

After a moment he heard movement by the door and could only hope that Edd and Matt were gone. He took a deep breath to steady himself before meeting Tom’s gaze, locking eyes across the room.

He wouldn’t remember much later aside from the ringing in his ears and the sudden pain that erupted in his shoulders as he was knocked to the ground once again. Claws dug into his arms, opening his previous wounds and carving out new ones. He bit down on his lip to stop himself from crying out; he’d suffered worse without so much as a whimper.

There was no cars or trucks or anything to help him this time, which left him with two options: try and get through to Tom, or tire him until he passed out again. Despite Tom currently wanting to kill him, Tord would much rather the former.

His left arm was pinned, any movement leading only to the claws digging in deeper. His legs were trapped beneath Tom’s weight. Surprised, he realised that his robotic arm was still responding. He risked a glance; for whatever reason, Tom’s claws just could not find purchase in the robotic limb. Whatever Paul had done had worked.

With a fair amount of effort, Tord ripped his arm from beneath Tom’s claws, wincing a little at the sound it made. It distracted Tom long enough for Tord to free his legs. Tom growled and raised his free hand; Tord flung his own out just in time to block the blow. He forced himself not to flinch as black claws wrapped around his robotic limb.

“Tord!”

 _Faen!_ Why did Edd have to be so persistent? “I told you to get out!”

“I’m not just going to leave you here!”

Tord held back a groan. He bit his lip again and began to push his right arm forwards, slowly pushing Tom’s claws away. He was beginning to doubt what few scraps of a plan he had.

“If you want to help-” Tord broke off as Tom’s grip on his robotic arm slipped. He quickly readjusted his arm, not wanting his frenemy to target anything he could actually damage instead. “If you want to help, go to Paul and Patryk. Tell them I need the blueprints.”

“Blueprints?”

“They’ll know what you’re talking about! Now go!” Tord couldn’t hear much above the growling of the creature above him; he could only hope Edd had listened to him this time.

Tord took a deep breath before pushing harder with his robotic limb, making sure Tom was somewhat preoccupied. At some point the claws digging into his left arm had loosened a little, meaning that he could move it slightly. Bracing his organic arm against the ground, he gathered his legs and pushed upwards. There wasn’t much force behind the kick, but it was enough to stagger Tom long enough for Tord to free his arm and roll away before the eyeless man could recover.

Tord scrambled to his feet, resisting the urge to clutch his injured arm. Tom growled and rose, effortlessly towering over Tord. The black from his claws had spread beneath his shirt now, and his now-sharp teeth were becoming ever more prominent as his mouth began to widen.

It wouldn’t be long now.

The Norwegian took a few tentative steps back, fighting the urge to grab his gun and shoot. That was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. Tord took a shaky breath and stepped back again, flinching as his back hit the wall. Tom’s eye narrowed; his growls grew louder. Tord glanced to the side before looking back to Tom, beginning to inch his way towards the door.

He was almost there when a few things decided to happen at once. First, Tom lunged for him. Second, Edd appeared in the doorway. And third, he heard the distinct sound of someone cocking a gun. All in the same second.

Tord leapt backwards on instinct, causing Tom to fall short slightly. This caused him to stumble over what remained of the door and directly into Edd, who immediately let go of whatever he was carrying to support his friend. Tord righted himself almost immediately, glancing towards what Edd had dropped. The blueprints. He grabbed them in his robotic hand before looking down the hall – Paul and Patryk were there. With guns.

The one time he didn’t want to shoot stuff!

“Drop the guns!”

They just stared at him sceptically.

“I said _drop them!_ ” He didn’t have time for this. He turned his attention to the blueprints. He hadn’t looked at them for at least a year now.

After a quick skim through them, he thrust them back into Edd’s hands and looked back to Tom. He was vaguely aware that Paul and Patryk had _not_ dropped the guns. That was fine.

* * *

_It was not fine!_

Tord had gotten Edd to read through the blueprints while he figured out what to try next. Tom had lunged again and Tord had dodged. He quickly realised that to keep Tom away from Edd, he’d have to go back into the room.

He’d have to go back into the small room with the monster who wanted him dead yet he couldn’t risk hurting, with an out-of-control robot arm and a shoulder that was screaming at him to just stop and tend to his injuries. Not to mention there was blood everywhere now. And a possibly dying half-vampire somewhere in the apartment. Things were _not_ going well.

Tord held back the sigh and ducked into the room, rolling aside just as Tom leapt again. His shoulder was burning; it was almost as bad as when- no! He was not going to think of that now. It would just make him even less willing to hurt Tom, and that wouldn’t be a good thing in this situation.

The thing that was even less good was having two men with guns just outside the room. Most people would be glad for the support and backup. Tord was not. Because as soon as he stumbled and bumped the wall, his shoulder began to burn, agony shooting through his arm. At this point he couldn’t resist, gripping his arm tightly, which only made the pain worse. He bit his lip to hold back whatever pained noises he was trying to make, barely even noticing when he drew blood.

It took Edd screaming to bring Tord back, and even then he was finding it hard to concentrate on anything. What he saw brought his vision instantly back into focus. Tom was on the ground again, clawing uselessly at his chest. And then suddenly Paul and Patryk were yelling about something and Edd was fighting to get past them and Tord just couldn’t take his eyes off of Tom.

He wasn’t sure whether it was the pain he was in or the sight of Tom bleeding out again. Whatever it was, he could no longer move. Which was really annoying because his friend was currently fighting with his soldiers to try and help his dying fr-

* * *

When Tord awoke, it took him a good few minutes to figure out where he was, and even longer to gather the strength to move. His vision cleared first – slightly blurry on his left side. He was able to make out… the ceiling. Very helpful. He couldn’t quite move his head yet, so he glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of a checker-patterned bass leaning against a wall. So he was still at Tom’s.

After a while the ringing in his ears faded and he was able to hear the murmur of distant voices. He wasn’t alone.

Eventually he decided to try and sit up. He waited a little longer to make sure he had the strength before putting his organic hand down – his robotic had disappeared – and pushing up. Before he could lift even a fraction of his weight a jolt of pain shot through his arm, causing him to fall back down, which only made his shoulder hurt more.

After a few more failed attempts he gave up, instead turning his head to look around. He was on the floor with a blanket folded beneath him. His robotic arm was laying on the table and his left shoulder was wrapped in bandages. Again. Matt was on the sofa, turned away from Tord. But even without seeing his face, the Norwegian knew he had made a bad decision opening the curtains and letting in the sunlight; he could still see the bandages.

After a minute or two of wishing he were dead, footsteps sounded nearby. Tord glanced up to see Edd walking over to them. The brown-haired man quickly noticed that Tord was awake, coming over and kneeling beside him.

“How’s your shoulder?” Edd asked.

Of course he would be worried. Tord offered a weak smile and croaked, “It could be worse.” He wanted to add, _at least I didn’t lose it_ , but didn’t for Edd’s sake.

Edd smiled back and they fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments.

“How’s Matt?” Tord asked, gaze once again resting on the maybe-vampire’s sleeping form.

“He could be better.”

Tord deserved that. But he delved deeper, anyway, “How’s Tom?”

Edd glanced down at him before shifting so that he was sitting cross-legged beside him instead. “Not good.”

“Care to elaborate?” He knew Edd didn’t. But he had to know.

“The bullet missed anything vital and we were able to get it out safely. He still has the hole in his shoulder, but the infection’s gone down.”

“How is that not good?”

Edd hesitated.

“Edd?”

“He, um… he didn’t… change back properly? Something went wrong.” Edd explained rather unhelpfully.

“He’s still shifted?”

“No. He… he changed back, but he was bleeding. A lot. From his h-head and back…” Edd paused to take a shaky breath. “H-he grows horns, Tord. A-and a tail!”

Tord stared for a moment. “Edd, I need to stand up.”

Edd hesitated before sighing and grabbing Tord’s hand. Even then he waited, as if asking for consent. Tord nodded and Edd pulled. As much as the pain that shot through him made him want to die, he couldn’t blame Edd. Any way to get him standing would’ve hurt. This was just the simplest.

Luckily it didn’t last long, and Edd immediately released Tord once he was on his feet.

“Paul and Patryk went back to their apartment. Tom’s in the bedroom.” Edd told him before moving to stand beside Matt, who seemed to be stirring.

Tord nodded his acknowledgment before starting down the hall. His legs were bruised and weak, but he kept going anyway. He held his arm close, knowing even the slightest movement would hurt. He’d need to get his robotic arm back soon. But Tom took priority.

The door was open; Tord didn’t have to knock his shoulder against it. Tom was laying on the bed, letting out ragged breaths. His shoulders were wrapped with bandages, and Tord could see more poking out from beneath his shirt.

Most worrying were the bandages about his head and waist. Where he hadn’t ‘changed back properly’. Where the horns and tail had left tears in his skin. Tord was almost glad Tom was unconscious. Almost.

Another chair had been placed by the bed; Tord sat down and just… watched for a while. A while turned into an hour, which turned into two and then five. Eventually Edd came in and told him they were making dinner, which meant he had been unconscious for either a couple hours or twenty four.

Tord stared down at Tom’s sleeping form, gaze fixing on the bandages around his head and arms. As he looked at the bandages at Tom’s left shoulder, he noticed a slight discolouration. A thick scar ran around the top of the eyeless man’s left arm. Unconsciously, Tord’s thoughts drifted to his own, matching scar. He didn’t know for sure when Tom had gotten the scar, but he had a fair idea.

His gaze lowered again, resting at his frenemy’s wrists. Tord blinked in confusion before looking back to Tom’s face. For the first time in days, he seemed peaceful. The Norwegian weighed his options a little longer before sighing and standing up; leaving the room. He paused at the door, glancing back uncertainly. No.

He’d ask about the scars another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest thing I've ever written. And I regret writing it. Why do I hurt them so much? Now everyone's hurt but Edd! Wait...


End file.
